


Love Notes

by EternallyEC



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: F/F, For Science!, Secret Admirer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23491150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallyEC/pseuds/EternallyEC
Summary: Someone's been leaving Jade gifts in her locker. She thinks they're cool, Beck thinks they're disgusting, their friend group thinks the entire thing is bizarre. But the real question is who's been sending them?Based on a prompt by Doriath in the Jori Discord
Relationships: Beck Oliver/Jade West, Tori Vega/Jade West
Comments: 19
Kudos: 334





	Love Notes

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to many in the Jori Discord for their help coming up with the gifts for Jade, especially VoltageStone and WasabiDuckies. (And, of course, the idea by Doriath!) This fic truly couldn't have been done justice without any of you! 
> 
> Minor Warning for things that might bother some, such as skeletons and mounted moths/butterfly jewelry.

It was just another day at Hollywood Arts, Jade thought with a disgruntled sigh as she slammed her car door closed with a little more force than was strictly necessary. She and Beck had driven separately today, her boyfriend having an audition after school that would prevent him from taking her home. It was all the same to Jade anyway, finding that she was starting to enjoy their time apart more than their time together and idly wondering if that wasn’t a bad sign.

But she shrugged the thought away as she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed into the school, smirking as everyone rushed to get out of her way. She rolled her eyes when Beck was nowhere to be found, ignoring the small feeling of relief as she won a few more minutes to herself. 

Thinking about her newest script as she opened the locker, Jade almost jumped when she was greeted by the sight of a rattlesnake skull. The mouth was open with fangs exposed, and it was the single coolest thing Jade thought she’d ever seen. Leaning closer, she saw that the skull (with neck bones, she noted with a genuine smile) was mounted on a cork base and that there was a glass cover resting beside it. 

Her eyebrow quirked up as she studied the peculiar sight for another moment, wondering who would have left something as cool as this in her locker. As far as she knew, she was the only person who had an interest in the weird and macabre, leaving virtually no other suspects since she definitely hadn’t given it to herself. 

Still, it was a damn cool gift and Jade couldn’t resist picking it up carefully by the base, using both hands to keep a secure grip as she brought the skull closer to examine it. Turning it from side to side, still facing her locker, she couldn’t help but grin in admiration. Captivated by the unexpected gift, she didn’t even notice when Beck came up behind her until his arms were wrapping around her waist. 

“Hey, babe. What do you… Whoa, what the hell is that?” Beck asked, disgust evident in his voice. Jade rolled her eyes, her smile immediately transforming into her usual scowl as she reluctantly and carefully placed the skull back in her locker, putting the cover over it. 

As she shut the door, her sharp eyes caught sight of a small, folded-up note that had been resting under the glass cover. She felt a surge of overwhelming curiosity as she shut the locker, wanting nothing more than to read it immediately. But when she turned to find Beck watching her, she knew that she’d have to wait, really not feeling like dealing with his reaction. She wanted to know who was responsible for the gift, but she knew that she’d have to wait until she was alone.

“Somebody left a rattlesnake skull inside my locker,” Jade finally said, sounding like it was something that happened every day. “Pretty cool,” she smirked, her eyes flickering up to meet Beck’s, who did not look amused. 

“A snake skull?” he repeated with a grimace. “Why would you want something like that? Why would someone leave something like that in your locker?” 

“I don’t know, Beck, maybe they actually pay attention to what I like,” she snapped, her ire rising more and more the longer Beck mocked her interests. “Unlike _you_ ,” she spat, whirling on her heel and storming off, leaving her bewildered boyfriend behind.

Jade reluctantly made up with Beck in Sikowitz’s class, though she didn’t hesitate to ditch him at lunch in favor of returning to her locker for a chance to read the note. Her lips automatically quirked up into a grin when she saw the skull, tracing one finger over the glass as she studied it again for a moment before grabbing the note. 

Shutting the locker, she leaned against it and unfolded the paper curiously. 

_Jade -_

_I know most secret admirers leave candy or flowers, but I thought this was more up your alley. :)_

Staring at the note in amused disbelief, Jade shook her head as she scanned the sentence a few dozen times more, searching fruitlessly for some kind of clue as to the sender’s identity. But the only evident clue she could find was the smiley face and there was only one person she could think of who might do something like that. And Jade knew for a _fact_ that that person would never have given her something like that. 

And… secret admirer. Huh. Her lips pursed as she turned back to look at her locker, thinking about this anonymous admirer who somehow seemed to know her better than her own boyfriend. 

“Hey babe, you’ve been gone a while,” Beck’s voice rang out from behind her, and Jade quickly shoved the note in her pocket, not wanting Beck to see it. “You good?” 

She smiled, ignoring the suspicious look on his face as she nodded. “Yeah, I wanted to check on my skull,” she told him, narrowing her eyes when he pulled a disgusted face. “Come on, let’s get back,” she ordered, grabbing his wrist and pulling him behind her with a smirk designed to hide the way her mind was whirling. 

The rest of the day passed quickly enough, though not quite as quickly as Jade would have liked. Beck stuck close to her as usual and though she usually would have appreciated the attention, today she just found it grating, particularly as she headed for her locker at the end of the day. 

“Don’t you have that audition to get to?” she asked with a roll of her eyes as he trailed behind her. She could feel his eyes fixed on her as she opened her locker, smiling again at the sight of the skull resting within. Gently taking it out, she cradled it in her arms and used her elbow to slam the locker closed, turning to Beck with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” Beck sighed, seeming to give up on her for the day. “Call you later?” he questioned with another disparaging glance at the object in her arms.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Jade brushed him off. “Later,” she said as an afterthought, striding towards the door without a backwards glance, Beck already forgotten in favor of planning out where she was going to put her new possession. 

~ ~ ~ 

The next few days found no unexpected gifts in her locker, much to Jade’s disappointment. She found herself grouchier than ever with Beck, his very presence putting her in blacker mood than usual, The only time she found any kind of relief was at lunch, where calculating eyes would wander around the tables, trying to pick out anyone who might be looking at her differently than usual or give her some kind of a sign that they were the one who’d left the skull in her locker. 

When Friday came, she’d almost given up, resigning herself to never knowing or receiving another gift. She’d ridden in with Beck, unable to find an excuse not to despite her best efforts. She knew that he was starting to get annoyed, not that she cared; she just really didn’t feel like dealing with it and had resolved to try to do something to lessen the tension between them. 

Climbing out of his car, she gave him a tight smile, unable to manage anything else. Shouldering her bag, she trailed behind him as they entered the school, making a beeline for her locker as soon as she neared it. 

She opened it with an air of hope despite everything, and this time, she wasn’t disappointed. Resting just inside of her locker was an emerald green rose jar vase with ribbon swirls and large bubbles around the glass, giving it character and a uniqueness that she found herself really liking. But what really caught her attention was the small blacklight shining down on it, making whatever was in the glass glow a vibrant green. 

“Whoa, cool,” she breathed, tracing one of the bubbles with a gentle finger. This time, she knew where to look and she grinned when she saw the small piece of paper tucked in the corner of her locker. Glancing around her cautiously, she made sure that Beck was still at his locker before plucking the note out and opening it, smoothing the edges out before glancing at the now-familiar penmanship. 

_My favorite element on the periodic table is Uranium because I am in love with U! :)_

Jade’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, unable to help snorting at the bad pun. In her distraction, she missed Beck coming up from behind her and glancing over her shoulder. “They left you something else?” he asked, his voice bemused. “Is that a note?” 

Jade’s fingers automatically tightened around the note, folding it up quickly before he could read it. “It’s just a lame pick-up line,” she told him, shoving it in her pocket. “And yeah, it’s uranium,” she told him with a smirk. 

“Weird,” Beck shrugged, obviously dismissing it. “Come on, we don’t wanna be late for class,” he told her, walking away. 

Rolling her eyes, Jade carefully tucked the note away in the back of her locker and flipped the blacklight off, taking a moment to admire the thought that had gone into this gift. They’d taped the flashlight-sized device to the top of the locker, carefully making sure it would hit the jar just right to make it glow. Smiling, she left it in place and shut the door before trailing after Beck. 

By the time lunch came around, Jade was thoroughly annoyed. Beck had been telling the others about the “weird” gifts that someone had been leaving Jade and that he thought it was supposed to be a prank. Jade had long-known that Beck didn’t and probably wouldn’t ever understand her fascination with things other people deemed gross or scary, but it was another thing entirely to listen to him mock her interests in front of all of their friends. 

As she picked at her burrito, hardly able to eat it as Beck continued to describe the “gross” skull that had been left for her, Jade couldn’t help but wonder about the fact that Beck didn’t seem to care that someone was leaving her gifts. He’d never been outrageously jealous, not that he’d had much of a chance to be with the way Jade purposefully scared off guys, but she would have thought that he’d have _some_ reaction to a secret admirer putting so much time and thought into leaving presents in her locker. 

Her eyes narrowed as Tori suddenly sat down, her usual bright, sunny smile plastered on her face as she greeted them all. Jade couldn’t help but wonder if Tori’s eyes lingered on her for a fraction of a second longer than usual or if she was just being paranoid. “What, Vega?” she snapped, more out of annoyance for her own pondering than any real malice. 

Tori just rolled her eyes and smiled at Andre. “So, what are you guys talking about?” she asked, and Jade groaned inwardly at the idea of Beck explaining it all again.

“Some weird stalker’s been leaving gifts in Jade’s locker,” Beck said with a chuckle. “And really weird gifts, too. Today’s wasn’t so bad, some weird thing in a jar that glowed, but the other day it was a disgusting snake skull. And they left a note with a lame pick-up line on it, I guess; Jade wouldn’t let me see it.” 

Jade rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she scoffed, over the conversation already. 

“Why do you think they’re a stalker?” Tori asked with a slight frown, taking a bite of her salad.

“They’ve been leaving them in her locker,” Beck explained. “Twice this week alone. It’s weird, right?” he shook his head.

“I don’t think it’s weird, not if they’re leaving her things she likes,” Tori protested, shaking her head. "I think it's sweet. They're trying to be nice to her."

“What are we talking about?” Trina demanded to know, pushing her way to sit between Robbie and Tori with a grin. 

“Jade’s stalker,” Andre informed her. 

“They’re not a stalker!” Tori protested again, jumping when Jade, completely done with the whole situation, threw her burrito down and stood up, storming away from the table. 

As she walked, she could hear snippets of their conversation following behind her. 

“I’m just saying, I think it’s nice that someone is leaving her things she likes,” Tori claimed.

“Geez, Tori, you’re being awfully defensive, aren’t you?” Trina countered, and Jade’s eyebrow raised. 

“I am not! I just don’t get what the big deal is,” Tori sighed. “So what if someone is giving her stuff she’s interested in? They’re probably just scared to do it in person, you know how she is.” 

Jade couldn’t help but smirk at that, growing closer to the doors that were looking better and better as they promised her the freedom she’s suddenly itching for. 

“I should probably go after her,” Beck sighed, and Jade shuddered, quickening her step and leaving them all behind. Going straight to her locker, she pulled the jar out and carefully tucked it into her back, making sure it was well protected before grabbing the blacklight and heading straight out of Hollywood Arts. She had just enough money to get a cab home and if she was fast enough, she could avoid a confrontation with Beck entirely. 

Luckily for her, she was fast enough and she spent the weekend at home alone and ignoring her phone. She admired the skull and the uranium and the notes that she’d stuck underneath them for safekeeping, wondering more and more about this person who apparently understood her even more than Beck and was willing to stick their neck out on the line to show it. Hell, she even thought about the way that Tori had stuck up for her interests when Beck was criticizing them.

When she arrived at school on Monday, she’d calmed down a little more and she pretended not to see Beck waiting by her locker, not bothering to make eye contact as she spun her combination in and opened the locker. 

“Jade, we have to talk,” he sighed. “You left without saying anything, even though I drove you here, and then you refused to answer your phone all weekend. What’s going on?” 

Jade hardly heard him, her eyes fixated on the insider of her locker and the shadow box sitting within. Ignoring Beck, she curiously slid it out and her eyes widened at the sight of the mounted moths resting against the white background. There were four in the box, all varying dark colors and patterns. She took a moment to admire them eagerly before returning her gaze to the locker, searching for the note she knew would be there. But even as her eyes landed on it, she spied something resting just on top of it. 

“Jade? Are you even listening to me?” Beck asked in exasperation, rolling his eyes as she hurried to pull something else out. 

Managing to slide the note into her pocket without Beck seeing, Jade carefully set the box back down and admired the ring she’d found. It was a perfectly shaped wing, a dark color with an exquisite pattern and she smiled as she immediately slipped it onto her finger. 

“Are you seriously ignoring me for another of your creepy gifts, Jade?” Beck huffed. “Some weirdo is getting into your locker and leaving you weird stuff, and you’re ditching _me_ over it?” 

Finally fed up, Jade whirled to glare at him, slamming her locker viciously shut after she’d made sure the box was safely inside. “And why is it that after _three years together_ , you still can’t accept my interests?” she spat angrily, folding her arms over her chest. 

“Because your interests are demented!” Beck yelled. “And I’m tired of pretending that they aren’t!” 

“ _Oh_ ,” Jade glared, “And when do you think you’ve ever pretended that you don't hate what I like? Don’t you think it’s a little sad that some random person knows what I like better than my own boyfriend does?!” 

“Really, that’s how you feel?” Beck laughed mirthlessly. 

“Yeah, it is,” Jade hissed, calming slightly with the truth in the air between them. “I haven’t been happy with this,” she gestured between them vaguely, “for a while, Beck. I don’t think you have been either. So we’re done.” 

“You’re right,” he sighed, shaking his head. “But I still think you’re making a mistake with whoever’s sending you these gifts, Jade. Watch your back.” 

Jade rolled her eyes and pushed her way past him, deliberately shoulder checking him. “Whatever,” she huffed, but there was no malice in it. 

Their friends had no idea what to do with them when they sat on opposite sides of the table at lunch. Cat had seen the break-up, apparently; by the time Jade had made it to class, everyone had been giving her odd looks and the redhead was furtively checking her phone at every opportunity. When Jade checked, she found that Cat had indeed posted the news on the Slap, but she couldn’t quite find it in herself to care. 

“So you guys are really okay?” Tori asked gingerly. 

Jade rolled her eyes. “It was mutual,” she said shortly, glaring at the other girl. 

“Jade wants to date her stalker,” Rex said, earning an admonishing, “Rex!” from Robbie and a murderous glare from Jade. “What? It’s the truth!” the puppet exclaimed. 

“Guys, okay look, I _know_ the gifts might be a little stalkery,” Tori intervened, laughing nervously when Jade turned her glare her way. “But they’re coming from a good place, right? So it’s like a nice stalker, not a creepy one."

“Can we _not_ talk about this anymore?” Jade groaned, rubbing her temple as a headache started to form. 

“Hey, where’d you get that ring?” Cat asked, reaching out to touch it before Jade jerked her hand away. “It’s pretty!” 

“Her stalker,” Beck answered dryly. 

“Okay, that’s it,” Jade groaned, standing up abruptly and gathering her trash. “I’m not talking about this anymore with any of you, and I’m going to figure out who this person is. And if one more of you call my interests creepy, then I’ll sic the stalker on you myself,” she finished with a fierce glare, stalking away. 

“But they’re a nice stalker, right?” Tori called after her, making Jade roll her eyes. Still, she couldn’t deny that she hurried into the bathroom to read the next note, excited to see what it said. 

_You’re a bright light and I’m the moth who can’t stop flying to you. :)_

Alone in the privacy of a bathroom stall, Jade grinned and gazed at her ring, taken aback again at just how _thoughtful_ the gifts were. Part of her thought that she shouldn’t be so excited to figure out who the mystery sender was so soon after her break-up with Beck, but a bigger part of her knew that they’d been over for a long time before the break-up. 

She left the bathroom after lunch was over with a renewed determination and maybe, just maybe, a softening of her heart towards the secret admirer. She had to admit that Vega was right, whoever the person was seemed to just want to make her happy and that wasn’t something she’d experienced in a damn long time. 

Every gift from that moment on was scrutinized extra carefully, particularly after Robbie had suggested that Sinjin could be behind the gifts. With mounting horror, she’d confronted the boy who had denied any knowledge of the gifts or participation in them, thank god. She shuddered again; even three days later, the idea that Sinjin could have been the person behind the gifts gave her the creeps. 

Opening her locker door, she grinned at the sight of the voodoo doll resting within and immediately reached out to pick it up, grabbing the note along with it. Holding the doll in one hand, she unwrapped the note with the other and began to read. 

_Since I can’t do the things I want to you, I thought I’d let you do the things you want to anyone else. :)_

Rolling her eyes, Jade couldn’t hide her smirk as she replaced both items, giving the doll a speculative look. It was then that she noticed something else laying in the corner of the locker, seemingly forgotten. Picking up the smooth, dark stone and rubbing it between her fingers, Jade’s eyes widened with realization as the first piece of the puzzle finally fell into place. 

As luck would have it, the object of Jade’s new suspicion was absent that day, leaving Jade jittery and pondering skipping the rest of the day entirely. But she was still in hot water with Lane over a certain incident involving her scissors and so she stayed and somehow managed to survive the school day. 

Banging on the familiar door, Jade shifted uncomfortably. Despite all of her nerves and time to think, she somehow _hadn’t_ thought of what the hell she was going to say when they answered the door. But she was Jade West; she’d think of something, she assured herself when there was suddenly noise on the other side of the door. 

It swung open to reveal Tori, dressed in pajamas and an overly bright pink tank top, her glasses perched adorably on her nose as her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Jade? What are you--”

“You’re the one, aren’t you?” Jade blurted out, brandishing the voodoo doll in front of her until Tori backed up a step and she could push her way inside. Whirling around to face Tori, she held up her hand to show her ring. “You’re the one leaving stuff in my locker, aren’t you? And the notes,” she laughed, shaking her head. “I should have known from the notes. Who else would use such _lame_ lines and put a fucking smiley face at the end of every one?” 

Tori was still standing in the doorway, her mouth moving soundlessly as she stared at Jade, guilt flooding her features. “I never meant for you to find out it was me,” she mumbled at last, hastily closing the door and moving closer. “I found a dead rattlesnake when I was outside and I’d been studying how to preserve animals so I wanted to try it,” she shrugged awkwardly. “But Trina made my parents enforce a ‘no skeletons in the house’ rule so I couldn’t keep it once I was done. I just wanted to give you something that I was proud of and that I knew you’d like,” she sighed, the words spilling out of her mouth quickly. 

“I didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand, honest. But the notes made it easy to admit how I felt and I just thought you’d laugh at them. I didn’t know you’d break up with Beck and I’ve felt awful for wrecking your relationship--”

“ _Vega_ ,” Jade interrupted, her head swimming with information and filing away the fact that Tori had preserved the snake _herself_ ; definitely not something she’d have ever expected out of her. But apparently, today was just _full_ of surprises, such as the fact that the _first person_ she'd suspected but had thought incapable of such interests was actually the one responsible for all of them.

“Beck and I needed to break up. We were just together because it was what we were used to--jesus, did you really preserve that snake yourself?” came out before she could stop it, though it was worth it to see the worry disappear from Tori’s face, replaced with a glowing, proud smile as she nodded. “Fuck, that’s hot,” she smirked. “Didn’t know you had it in you, Vega.” 

Tori giggled, taking another step towards her. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, _West_ ,” she said, hands twisting nervously in front of her. “You’re not mad?” 

Instead of answering, Jade took the final step to close the distance between them and pulled her into a kiss. It was tentative at first, quickly growing passionate as they wrapped their arms around each other. 

“Wait, how _did_ you figure it out?” Tori asked when they’d broken apart for air, both panting slightly and wearing matching grins. 

Jade pulled the stone from her pocket and pressed it into Tori’s hand. “This was in my locker.” 

“I wondered where I’d lost this,” Tori groaned. “But wait, how did you know it was mine?” 

“You think I haven’t seen you with it?” Jade raised an eyebrow. 

“But I always hide it,” Tori frowned. “I don’t like for people to see.” 

Jade rolled her eyes, unable to believe she was about to admit this. “Yeah, well, sometimes I watch you when no one else is looking,” she smirked, the uncomfortable moment quickly made worth it when Tori’s face broke out into a huge smile. 

“That’s so sweet,” she cooed. 

Okay, maybe it wasn’t worth it after all. 

But then Tori grinned and kissed her again, and Jade thought that she could deal with a little sappiness in the form of Tori Vega. 

~FIN

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you thought :)


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